Sasume After Dark
by xXXx Wilder xXXx
Summary: Sasume Kazana is a normal girl. That is, until Kosuke Asayaka came and changed her whole life by turning her into one of the most feared ninja in the city. Now, she goes through an intense test against two other leiutenants for the ulimate title: captain.
1. Chapter One: INFERNO

**Chapter One — INFERNO**

My name is Sasume Kazana, your average high school student. I'm eighteen and in my last year. At first glance, I'm everyone's idea of a perfect citizen. I study hard and hand in all my assignments. I have faithful friends and a normal family: my mom and dad, my younger sisters Mika and Mira, and my cat, KiKi. But there's one thing that no one knows about. My secret life. Yeah, I know it's old. Every superhero has a secret identity, but I'm no superhero. I'm a ninja working for INFERNO Squad. INternational FedERacy Ninja Operations.

When I was sixteen, INFERNO recruited me, a top athlete at Kuname High School in Kuname City. On a dark night, I saw a shifting shadow on my bedroom wall. Slowly, I slipped out from between my covers and grabbed my baseball bat from under my bed. I made sure I had a good hold on it before approaching the shadow.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I held the tin bat threatenly. Anger was heated in my voice.

"My name is Kosuke. Captain Kosuke Asayaka. I'm a ninja working for INFERNO Squad." A young man, about my age, emerged from the shadows and into the silver light that eminated from the streetlight outside my window. He was tall, but I came to about his chin from the top of my head. He wore his long, white blond hair in a ponytail with a section of bangs loose over the right side of his face. He wore a black t-shirt that had a vee-cut neck, and a fishnet muscle shirt was under it. His shorts were white jean, and he wore what appeared to be open-toe sandals woven from grass or something.

"What do you want?" I repeated, ready to swing.

"I came for you, Sasume Kazana. INFERNO has chosen you to train exclusively. Under my guidance, you can help Kuname City and many other places that are struggling with crime rates." He spoke in a cool, calm voice. "We choose only athletes at the age of sixteen. You, dearest, have top marks in Physical Education, do you not?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Hold the phone! How do you know my name?"

"INFERNO has been watching you for a while. Three years to be exact." I noticed how his face held a soft, emotionless look and stared down upon me.

"Stalkers," I muttered, lowering the bat. Just as I was beginning to trust him, he disappeared. I gasped. I hadn't even blinked and he had just vanished! My light flipped on and I turned to the switch to see Kosuke standing next to it. "What is this? Some kind of rape attempt? 'Cause it won't work! I have a bat and I'm not afraid to swing!"

He moved toward me. "Sasume, if you don't come willingly then I'll have to use force."

"Get back!"

"You could be stronger. You could help to save the city from certain destruction. One ninja can—"

"Get out of my house!" I swung at him and he vanished, reappearing by my window.

"Please consider it. I'll be back tomorrow." With that, he climbed out my window and ran off on the tree tops that lined the road.

I stared at my window with my bat lowered. _Consider it? Hell, no! Or maybe... Being a ninja could be fun..._

It was at that moment that my parents burst into my room. Mom looked like some sort of alien in her cucumber face mask and giant hair rollers. Dad was wearing nothing but his favourite playboy boxers. Kind of gross if you ask me. The worst part, Mika and Mira were right on their tails. The twins were twelve then. Mika was wearing her favourite pink kitty pajamas. Mira was wearing her Akika pajamas, that were black flannel with the international punk rocker's name written over what appeared to be a mutilated heart.

Mika and Mira were ferternal twins, and they couldn't be more different. Mika loved cats and rabbits and anything fluffy, whereas Mira liked her animals to be pure muscle and able to shed skin. Mika always listened to classical music, because it apparently makes you smarter. Mira listened to nothing but Akika. They were both tall, slim and pale like Mom and I, but Mira had inherited Dad's blue-black hair which she grew out to her shoulders and almost always wore a black tuk over it. Mika had strawberry blond hair which she kept cut just below her ears. There was always at least one red star clip in it to hold her bangs back, as well.

"Something wrong?" Mika clutched our creme-coloured cat, KiKi, worriedly.

"Nah, I'm fine." I waved it off.

"You sure? You look pissed." Mira huffed. It was obvious that she had been sleeping.

"I said I'm okay, and I meant it. Just a bad dream, that's all."

They all went back to bed. Mira wasn't buying it. She was smarter than that.

Two years later, I was at the top of the game. Okay, close to the top. I was feared. I was Leiutenant Sasume Kazana, and by a single glare, the first-years would get chills up their spines. I was living a double-life. School girl by day, ninja by night. As Lieutenant, I usually got five hours sleep before someone woke me up to go on a mission. Just like one particular night.

I had fallen asleep on the wooden strip bench in the dojo. I was dreaming of my three best friends, Arime,

Tsuko, and Kosuke. I was dreaming about two years ago when I first met Kosuke in the real world (as we call it) after our almost fantasy encounter in my bedroom. Kosuke turned out to be a great guy, and we became fast friends. Tsuko and Arime fell in love with him as well, and we became a foursome.

"Sasume-sensei!" A sixteen-year-old that I tutored ran into the dojo. "Kiko and I have been looking everywhere for you!"

As she said this, her cousin, Kiko ran in behind her. He bent over with his arms bracing himself on his knees. He was panting.

"Am I that evasive, that I don't even have to move and you can't find me? Kiko, Mayu. You both need to work on your analyzing skills. Kiko, work on your stamina." I closed my eyes to go back to sleep.

"Sasume-sensei! Wake up! There's some crazy guy downtown, ruining everything! You've gotta go!" Mayu whined, tugging my forest green sash.

I looked up at her with dark chestnut eyes, pleading to her. _Don't make me get up, please_.

She stared down at me and I sighed, heaving myself up. I yawned and stretched, pulled down my yellow battle kimono and fixed the fishnetting underneath it. "Fine. I'm up, I'm up."

"Sasume, hurry along," Kosuke urged as I dashed down the hall next to him. The entrance to the hideout was just ahead and we both flew threw it in one clean jump. It was clear that I was almost equally matched to the Captain, but I still had a long way to go.

_I give myself a 9 for skill, a 7 for style and a... 2 for stealth._

It only occured to me that I had tripped over a branch when I hit the ground hard. Usually I would have recovered and rebounded, but I wasn't all there that night. I had two tests to study for and hadn't slept in two days. Arime wanted me to come to a sleepover with Tsuko, and was begging Kosuke to come along as well. I had a major migrane and jumping around like this wasn't helping, so naturally I lost my balence and fell. Luckily, no one saw me. I was able to recover before one head could turn in a group of teens that appeared to be getting home from the new nightclub just down the street.

One of them looked up, but I used a Dancing Leaf Shadow. This is a high-speed taijutsu move used to remove yourself from your opponent's sight to position yourself away from their next attack. In this case, I moved myself into the trees and out of sight, then waited.

"Did you see that?" One of them asked.

Another shook his head. "No, you're probably just seeing things. You are kind of buzzed up."

"Yeah... And I forgot my glasses. I hate contacts."

I let out a sigh and continued.

Reaching the crime scene, I saw a rather large man who appeared to be having an emotional breakdown as two ninja tied him up. I recognized them as Commanders Mechryu and Rasachi. I jumped down to accompany them, landing silently next to Kosuke who was trying to calm him down.

"With all this racket," Rasachi tightened her knot. "People will flood the streets. We'll be found."

Rasachi was a tall and beautiful woman. She was twenty-five-years-old with almost waist-length hair that was fiery red in colour. She kept it up in a ponytail near the top of her head. I had never seen it styled differently. Not even when I saw her as my teacher every Friday in last period English Literature. She had a finely drawn head and large, clear eyes that sparkled a dark jade. She was usually pale, but this spring she had a light tan from all the sun and lack of rain. Also, I figured she had a crush on one of the Captains, Gin Takamaru.

Mechryu nodded in agreement. She stood up next to me. "Yeah, someone should gag him or something."

Mechryu was sweet and smart, unlike hot-tempered and rash Rasachi. She was also twenty-five, with mid-back-length ocean blue hair, that was always kept in a braid. Sometimes she wore it like Rasachi, like when she worked at Kuname High as the Art and Photograhpy teacher. She had pale skin and a perfectly held head. Her facial features were well-defined and simple, but she was still rather pretty.

"So, gag him and bring him in," I yawned. Just as Rasachi moved to obey my command, he screamed and broke free of the ropes.

"So not good." Rasachi said in realization of how tall and strong this man really was.

I shook my head, in sync with Kosuke. The man attacked, first with an amazing blow towards me. His arm swung with his hand curled into a tight fist. I jumped and front-flipped to land on his large arm. Mayu had been wrong. This wasn't just some insane guy. This was a First Gate Demon, one known primarily for possessing human beings. He went to grab me with a hand four times the size of any normal man's, which I grabbed and swung my self up on, holding myself in a handstand. I launched myself backwards to land on his over-sized shoulders, standing up straight.

"Sorry, but the fun's about to end," I chuckled a bit to myself.

This First Gate was just like any other that I fought. Tall and stupid. Solid muscle with no idea what to do with it. He was rather ugly as well, with rough skin that was now turning grey. I looked at it in confusion, Possession Demons usually had blood red or dark tan skin depending on gender; dark tan being the female, blood red being the male. This one had quite obviously been male, but it was as if some hidden power had been unlocked. He thrashed around wildly, screaming into the night. His eyes went from dark blue to entirely black. There was a four-point star in jet black on his forehead. I heard a siren wailing in the distance. Police.

"Kosuke... What is this?" I heard Mechryu ask as she and Rasachi stepped back with fear lighting every inch of their bodies.

"It's a Fifth Gate Demon. The Shapeshifter." Kosuke answered, staring straight at it calmly.

"Fifth Gate?" I asked, thinking back to my lessons. "The weakness is in... the star."

I quickly drew one of my two kantanas and slid it cleanly through the black star. "Hyah!" One clean slice. I drew the silver sword out once the demon had stopped moving and began to fall.

"I hope you wanted that dead, Kosuke." I stated before my frontflip dismount, landing right infront of him.

"Your analyzing skills are weak. Anyone could see that was a Fifth Gate," he said sharply. "Mechryu, I suppose you saw it right away, with your sharp eyes."

"Wha– Oh... yeah. Of course I did." Mechryu's face flushed a light pink and averted her eyes towards Rasachi's feet. "First of all, when he changed from human to demon, it was clean. Clearly a Shapeshifter Demon. Possession Demons shed the skin of the possessed human."

"Right, Commander." Kosuke nodded softly, then looked at me. "Sasume, nice work. Your Taijutsu has improved. Rasachi... good knot work." He turned on his heel and began to walk away. "All in all, good work. Now dispose of the corpse."

The three of us drew out a long rectangle of paper with a single character inscribed on it: Disintegrate. We all stuck them to the demon and it disappeared into a fine dust and flew off in the wind. Just as the sirens came into the five-way stop. Kiri Street, Taki Lane, Aka Street, Hime Cresent, Sessho Drive. I realized that we were standing on Kiri Street, a four-lane street. It was dead. All the lights were off and there were no cars. Same on the other streets. It was 4AM. Usually there were all kinds of people out. Tonight there was no one.

"I can't believe he said that," Rasachi's words broke into my thoughts as the three of us walked back together. "_Good knot work_."

"Well, that's all you really did, Rasachi-chan." Mechryu stated in a low voice, almost scared.

"You two _were_ pretty pitiful." I agreed, quickening my pace. I knew, though, that neither Rasachi nor Mechryu would dare attack me. I was after all Lieutenant Sasume Kazana; whereas they were simply Commander Rasachi Noma and Commander Mechryu Takahashi. They were ranked though, not like the First Years and ninety-four percent of the Second and Third Years.

Commander was the third lowest rank. First, there were Leaders, who each lead a squad of three ninja. The term 'leader' was not used, however, in their title. For example, one of the leaders was a seventeen-year-old girl, who was refered to as Koiyuki Fujika. We also called her Koiyuki, and sometimes Snow, because of her extremely long silver hair which she kept in line with fighting tape down near the end of her hair. Beyond the tape was about five inches of silver silk.

Next was Corporal. There was nothing very special about them. They got to control three Leaders, and chose the ninja that were placed with each Leader. Really, they should've been the lowest rank in my opinion. Especially since most of them had no hope of ever getting a higher rank. I skipped the whole Corporal stage. I went from First Year to Commander. My least favourite of this rank was Corporal Tsunako Yagami. He was quiet and mysterious, and whenever he said something I wanted to punch him for it. Most of all, I hated his haircut. He had straight bangs that came right across the middle of his eyes and was long in the back.

After that was Commander, like Rasachi and Mechryu. Commanders fought in teams of two and were each in control of two Corporals and three Leaders. If back-up was needed, they could call in their teams at any given moment via wireless communications system. Wearing this little earpiece and the matching choker receiver was requirement. No matter how ugly. Personally, I liked them.

Then Leiutenant. Basically, we got to tutor First Years and lead one Commander each, plus anything along the Commander's line. Lieutenants were all automatically enrolled for a test everytime of of the highest ranks, Captain, was killed. This had happened just recently. Captain Roku Matsuyama. She was killed by a Tenth Gate Demon. There was only one, and he was otherwise known as Jazan, the Almighty Lord of the Underworld. It sickened me to know that there were people who warshipped him, and called themselves 'Jazanists'. Anyway, by this time, the first exams had already taken place. Only three passed. Sano Izumi, Raito Yamikira and myself.

Raito was twenty-one, and as far as I knew, living alone. She had soft features that matched her soft lavender-blue hair and blue-grey eyes. She always wore a knee-length, lavender battle kimono with navy blue cherry blossoms around the egde, and carried a wakizashi, which is a smaller form of my kantanas. Kantanas are a horseman's sword, used for the samurai who battled from horseback in the feudal era of Japan, such as the Lords or Generals. Wakizashis, however were shorter for close-range combat.

Sano was my age. He had a shag of black hair and ice blue eyes that reminded me of a huskey. He had three small silver hoop earrings on his right ear, and three silver studs on his left. He was pale-skinned and muscular, and always seemed to be wearing black, grey or white. He was my height. I noticed that when I turned around at the anual INFERNO Christmas Party and saw his eyes staring directly into my eyes. I also noticed that he was nice only to girls and people he knew and liked.

eyes.


	2. Chapter Two: Rescue Arime

**Chapter Two — Rescue Arime**

The school bell rang. I sat up in my chair and stretched, yawning. I had fallen asleep that day in last period, resulting in the now-glaring eyes of Rasachi. I gave her an innocent smile, standing and grabbing my books. I made a break for it, but Rasachi darted infront of me and closed the door. I hung my head.

"For shame, Lieutentant." She leaned back against the door.

"What? I was tired! You know I do almost twice as much work as the others, Rasachi. Please let it go this time." I begged, rubbing one of my eyes.

"For shame." she repeated. "You don't need to take all the missions. Five a week minimum, remember? You don't need to take all the missions."

"Yes I do. Kiko and Mayu idolize me. Not to mention, there's Kosuke to impress, a Captain's spot to fill. One ninja can make the difference."

Rasachi shook her head. "Lieutenant, go home and sleep. I'll tell Mechryu to lay off your homework by my order. And I'll tell Gin that you're not coming in tonight. Stay home and rest, Sasume. You need it."

"Rasachi's right," Kosuke stood up from his desk. I hadn't even noticed him sitting there. He was so silent. "You need to sleep. Infact, I'm going to take the night off as well. But first I have to go to a conference with Gin and Suigetsu."

He stood and Rasachi moved from the door, bowing slightly to him and I as we left. I stopped in a corner and focused intirely on my locker, closing my eyes. I felt a stirring in the pit of my stomach and a buzzing lit up in my appendages. When I opened my eyes, I was standing infront of my locker. Deep Shadow's Transportation, only mastered by a handful of INFERNO, including the captains. Luckily the hall was near empty and no one saw me. Quickly, I spun out my locker combination, gathered my books into my bag and slung my bag over my shoulder. I slammed the locker door shut, then pounded it twice with my fist. I had to or else it wouldn't stay shut. As I was making my way out the front doors, Arime dashed up to me and sighed.

"I have to work again tonight," She rolled her eyes. "My boss is such an ass."

"I know," I answered. "So's mine... Sometimes."

"You never talk about your boss. What's his name?" Arime asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

Arime Kuroki is the kind of person you can't say no to. She's got pale skin, chestnut hair and green-blue eyes that give her a doll-like appearance. Normally, she's a sweet girl, but I didn't know anyone that would intentionally piss her off. She was smart and beautiful, what most of the guys in our school looked for. Yet Arime had never had a boyfriend and the guys just didn't seem interested.

"His name is... Gin. He works with his best friend, Suigetsu. Both of them can be a real handful sometimes. Especially Gin. He's got hawk-eyes." I laughed, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Gin and Suigetsu? As in Principal Takamaru and Vice Principal Hamada?"

"No, of course not. I work as a photographer for the Nami Times." I said quickly. "You know the newspaper that covers Kuname City, Yukigakure, Atakatu Town, and that little fishing village out by Tsunade?"

"Oh. Okay." I saw the look in her eyes. Not buying it. In that way, she reminded me of Mira.

"So, Sasume," Mira slunk to my side as I entered the door. "Being home sick like I am, I know that a loving sister such as yourself would do just about anything to help me."

"What do you want?" I kicked off my shoes and dropped my bag next to them.

"Can you do my homework?" Mira asked. I looked at her. She had the Karin-Angelique look.

Karin-Angelique was one of my sisters' favourite movies. It was an anime about a guardian angel, Karin, who refused to do any actual guarding. The angel had to be thrown off her cloud before she agreed to guard him. This is only because she found out that when he decides he doesn't need her anymore, he gets one wish. And that wish could be in her favour. Throughout the movie, she tries to guard him, but she's too lazy and on top of that doesn't care enough for the boy's life. Eventually, she falls in love with him, but has too much pride and arrogance to admit it and it ends up damaging her wings. So he takes care of her, going to every extent possible to keep her happy. He even stays up all night at her bedside. It really was a sweet story.

Anyway, it wasn't a cute look.

"No, I have to work tonight."

"Aww, whatever." Mira sighed and trudged off into the dining room to get Mom's help.

I laughed and went upstairs, changing into my battle kimono. I carefully fixed my double kantanas to my back and hoped out my window and into the open sewer grate in the ally below. I walked through the darkness, my light footsteps echoing along with the sounds of dripping water. I rounded a couple bends and stopped at a white light from ahead.

"State your buisness." A voice came from above.

"Lieutenant Sasume Kazana. I have to talk to a few N.I.T.s." I called up. They made me take a finger print scan and an eye scan before they let me into the building.

"It's funny, Lieutenant. Commander Rasachi said you weren't coming in tonight." I heard a voice behind me as I climbed out of the sewer. Without turning, I could picture the source of the voice. A tall, young man with short light brown hair and dark chestnut eyes. Hot body and completely off limits.

"Sorry Captain Gin. I have to talk to Mayu and Kiko. I had training scheduled tonight and I want to move it." I gave him an innocent smile as I turned to face him.

"Fine," he sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. "But then straight home."

I nodded, then bowed. "Yes, Captain." I returned to a standing position, then walked off towards the dojo. I knew that when I entered, the Kahako cousins would be there. Maybe I would train them for a bit. They were counting on me, after all.

As I had predicted, they were waiting for me.

"Sasu-sensei!" Kiko exclaimed, jumping up. I was sure I had been over the whole 'Sasu-sensei' thing with him before.

_He'll never change_.

Kiko was short with chin-length black hair. He had onyx eyes to complete the look, and on top of that had pale skin. He always looked kind of sickly, but in truth he was extremely healthy. The boy was always in good spirits and had the I-just-devoured-a-bag-of-sugar attitude. Nevertheless, I loved the kid. He was one of my best students, being very skilled with a sword. His particular sword was made of pure silver and was perfectly balenced, meaning that the blade was the full width of the hilt. He had named it Daisuke, though he explained several times to me that it was a female.

It made me think about my own two kantana. I had inherited them after Captain Roku's death. One of them was black with a white hilt; the other silver with a black hilt. She had named them Yin and Yang for their partnership. For their harmony, she had once said to me. Roku and I had been close friends of INFERNO, and so I was given her swords.

"I-it's Leiutenant Sasume, or Sasume-sensei!" I growled, holding up my fist. He shook and gave me a weak smile.

"Sorry, Sasume-sensei."

"Good, then." I wiped off my hands, then crossed my arms, holding my head high.

"Good evening, Sasume-sensei." Mayu bowed to me.

She was a beautiful young girl, with violet hair always held in a ponytail and the family's onyx eyes. Unlike her cousin, she was tall and athletic-looking, with a healthy glow in her face. She had a light tan and had to be the most beautiful Ninja-In-Training. Though, she wasn't the brightest student and her sword play was definatly not the best. She, like the other ninja in her family, weilded a silver kantana. But on the cherry blossom pink hilt was an amber dragon twisted around a cherry blossom. She had named it Sakurako.

"I'm ready for your training, Sasu-sensei, no matter cruel and unusual!" Kiko saluted me. I rolled my eyes.

"We're not doing training tonight. Actually, I came to reschedule. I'm taking the night off." I pulled a black book out of a cupboard on the wall, then flipped to the right day. I drew a line through it, then copied the last note on another day, exactly a week later. "There we go. Now, if you two want something to do, Kiko can help Mayu practice with the sword."

I turned and walked out of the room, taking a left towards the exit. Kosuke came up beside me, shook his head and sighed.

"I thought you weren't coming in." I stated, staring straight ahead.

"Neither were you." he answered. "But I had a conference to go to."

"I nodded, slowly. "_Touchez_, Captain." I stopped to open the door for him. "Fleas before beauty."

"Only you could get away with that." He stepped out into the cool night air. "Look, Gin wanted me to tell you. The Second Stage Captain's Exam is coming up. I know it sounds stupid, but to qualify, you need to defeat one of INFERNO's best-kept secrets. Either the 'Head Rush' or the 'Insomniac'. We decided these two would be good matches for you. Whichever you don't take, however, Raito Yamikira must defeat."

"I thought I already qualified through the First Stage." I furrowed my brow, shutting the door slowly.

"It seems that you need to prove yourself again. They want to see you fight, not answer questions in a written exam." Kosuke kicked at a stone. "To be honest, I can't help you. Usually I'd help you cheat at something like this... Both Rini's Head Rush Attack and Usagi the Insomniac are highly skilled with their techniques. Choose wisely."

"I'll go... Usagi. I've met him before, it shouldn't be too hard. Right?"

"Don't be so sure. He may look sickly and half-asleep, but I asure you, he's a handful. One of the strongest Leiutenants, even surpassing you. However, he was unable to compete in the Captain's Exams for reasons unknown to me." Kosuke's eyes locked into mine. I knew when he was absolutly serious.

"All right." I nodded, trying to avert my eyes from his.

"You think you'll survive the Qualifier?" he asked, knowing the answer. I didn't have to say it, I just gave him a smirk overflowing with pride. "Can I walk you home, then?"

"No, Kosuke. You live on the other side of the city." I smiled at him, my eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Besides, I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

"Well, I booked of us both off tomorrow night. Wanna go to Midori's?" He scratched his ear and turned away from me.

"I can't. It's my favourite Sushi place and all, but no, _Captain_." I put stress on his title, so maybe he'd understand. We couldn't be together because of the Captain's exams. If I were to become one of the captains, they'd think it was only because of my relationship with Kosuke. I wanted everything to be fair this time.

"Okay. But whether you like it or not, I'm walking you home."

"Fine. Walk me home." I caved, rolling my eyes.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you'd even bring that up!" I laughed, forgetting that we weren't supposed to be so close. He had his arm around my waist and I had been leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Well, I thought it was a good memories." He shrugged. We had been walking for over an hour, just dawdling around and taking the long way to my place.

"I fell down the stairs infront of the gym. I almost failed the Leuitenant's Exam and made a fool of myself infront of Gin and Suigetsu. It was the worst night of my—"

A scream wrang through the cold night air. I recognised it.

"That was Arime!" Kosuke yanked away from me and ran after the scream. I chased after him to find my best friend curled in a corner, clothes ripped and blood seeping from a single stab wound in her hand from trying to defend herself. Kosuke had made it to her side first, despite the fact that he knew she'd recognize us. I came up to her next, silently.

"K-kosuke? What... what are you doing here?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly from shock.

"Saving you," he answered, taking a roll of bandage out of his pocket and wrapping her hand. "Sasume, go get the offender. I'll take care of Arime."

"S-sasume?" Arime asked, looking around. I stepped out into the street light's beam.

"I'm on it, Captain." I nodded and turned.

"Captain? Kosuke, what's going on?!"

I dashed off. The culprit hadn't gotten far. But he was wearing all black, which made him hard to see in the shadows, so I waited until he was in the light. Then I tackled him, drawing Yin and Yang, and placing them both to his throat.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arime wimpered as I returned, wiping the blood from my hands on a black cloth.

"INFERNO is a _secret_ organization. I wasn't allowed to tell you." I sighed, looking at Kosuke. She had weaseled it out of him.

"Now that I know, are you going to kill me?" She began to shake as I drew Yin from .

I wiped the blood with another black cloth. "No, just keep your mouth shut."

"So, you're not really a photographer? Gin and Suigetsu..."

"Are really Principal Gin Takamaru and Vice Principal Suigetsu Hamada," a soft, cool voice came from behind us.

"Captain Suigetsu." I hung my head.

"Vice Principal Hamada?" Arime asked, trying to stand up, but falling back. Kosuke put a hand on her shoulder to stop any further attempts.

"Good job, Leiutenant, but you didn't need to kill him." Suigetsu shook her head.

Captain Suigetsu Hamada, better known as Vice Principal Hamada was kind of creepy looking for twenty-four. She had silver hair that hung just below her shoulders. Her eyes were ice blue and they bore into your mind, making you feel like there were no secrets you could keep from her. The woman was intimidating, no thanks to her special ability. Like almost every other ninja in INFERNO she had her own nickname according to her special ability. I had never experianced her special ability firsthand, but she was titled 'The Water Moon'.

I didn't know many of the other titles around INFERNO, but I knew that Captain Gin was 'The Silver Hawk', Rasachi was 'The Resilent Flame', Mechryu was 'The Dark Wave'. I wasn't so sure about Kosuke's, but I think it was 'The Morning Mist'. I had not yet gotten a title. I hadn't developed a special ability, I was naturally good without one. Besides, there was only one title I was worried about. The Insomniac. I would fight him in less than a week's time and I didn't even know how to prepare.

Though I had decided to run it past Arime. She was smart enough.

"The Insomniac, huh? Sounds like he never sleeps." She mused, twirling a finger slowly through her hair.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that." I frowned. "What d'you think?"

"The way you talk about the titling... His special ability might have something to do with the darkness or night, perhaps." She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes in thought. "It's hard to fight in the dark. You'd need a light or something."

"Only kunai knives, shuriken, senbon and summoning scrolls allowed as weapons." I sighed, exasperated.

"Did you just say... _summoning scrolls_?" Arime opened her eyes and grinned at me. "I've just found your solution, Lieutenant Kazana!"

Even with Arime's solution, I decided to look back on Roku's strategies. She was a best friend. She would've wanted me to have that place. Roku had many memories that could be accessed through her Mind Scrolls. These Mind Scrolls are top secret, not to get out to the INFERNO in the other cities. Like in ninja villages, we are at war with each other. Infact, the Captain of the INFERNO Squad in Tsunade was none other than Captain Akiko Koiyumi, international punk rocker. For a singer, she did put up a pretty good fight, so fortunatly Kuname City and Tsunade were allies at the moment.


	3. Chapter Three: Roku Matsuyama

**Chapter Three — Captain Roku Matsuyama**

_There was a young girl, about thirteen-years-old. She stood in the middle of a park in the rain. Even under her umbrella, she still managed to get wet, so she moved under a set of trees and sat on the faded green park bench that was there. She sniffled, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Her dark brown eyes looked as downcast as the weather did as she stared into a nearby puddle that reflected her shoulder-length chestnut hair that she always wore a white headband in, and her pale but creamy complexion. She kicked a stone into it, ruining her reflection._

_This was Roku Matsuyama. A normal thirteen-year-old girl when she was around people. But her parents had died in a plane crash and it killed her inside. She hadn't told anyone that she knew. Just the boy who had taken her in out of pity. She hated to be pitied, yet she had taken a liking to him and vice versa. They were always together. Almost inseperable; he was the only thing that could make her smile. But he had told her to stay away after school. He told her to wait at the park for him, that he'd come for her. She was starting to think that he'd never come to get her. It had been four hours since school had let out. And the way he had raised his voice at her, and told her to stay away...._

He forgot about me.... No, he just doesn't want me hanging around anymore. He's tired of me, _she thought slowly letting it slip into her mind that all this time he never cared for her the way she cared for him._

_He only pitied her. Now that she was thirteen, she was old enough to take care of herself. Maybe that was what he expected her to do. Survive on her own._

But I don't want to be alone. I can't live without him.

_She closed her eyes, trying to stall the tears that burned to escape. To no avail. They created rivers of salt water down her pale cheeks. She bit her lip to stall for time. All it did was hurt her more. The tears came faster, and she tried to convince herself that a thirteen-year-old didn't know what real love was, she should stop crying over him. Roku wiped her tears and choked out a short whine. She tried to stifle it._

_Eventually, the tears became less and less frequent as the rain let up. She stared out across the path to a feild full of white and violet irises. She watched the rainwater glide down the delicate petals slowly with the cool after-rain breeze. It was an almost happy thought, and irises were his favourite flower. She had always come here and picked him a fresh bouquet every week, and they kept the living room of the Takamaru House looking bright and airy among the lace curtains and white walls._

_Roku twisted the white umbrella impatiently. She stared down at the kanji written of the hilt. They read _Property of Takamaru House_. The Takamaru House was a former restaurant that he bought for himself and his sister, Tori, with the money they had inherited from their parents when they were murdered. Originally, it was just for him and Tori, but somehow there had been a hollowness about it. Then, he had taken Roku in and for some reason, Takamaru House didn't seem so empty. _

_"You stayed out here all this time?" A voice came from her left and she turned to it. Suddenly, the clouds began to clear up and the sun shone through in salmons, oranges and crimsons. It was sunset already._

_"Gin!" She stood and smiled brightly, then ran into his waiting arms. She buried her head in his chest. "You didn't forget!"_

_"Forget? No way. Like I could forget you, Roku. Remember, Takamaru House is empty without you." Gin smiled down at her. He had been seventeen then. His sister, known as Corporal Tori Takamaru, was only ten, same as I would have been._

_At that time, INFERNO was being run out of a chemical plant that had been shut down, instead of Kuname High. He only became a teacher because he knew that the school would be a much better place to run INFERNO from. It was clean and the First-Years would know where to find it. Less of a risk of INFERNO being uncovered by some idiot stopping to ask for directions._

_Gin had made sure that Roku was perfectly active so that when it came time for the N.I.T. Selections, she was the first choice. She was a natural. After her first year, she quickly went from Regular Ninja to Leiutenant, then passed the Captain's Exams when Captain Kie Fu retired. She fit perfectly with Head Captain Gin Takamaru, Secondary Captain Sakura Yagami, and Captain Suigetsu Hamada._

_Then, three years later, Sakura was killed by a strong poison during an enemy raid. At once, Suigetsu was moved to Secondary Captain, opening a spot for Leiutenant Kosuke Asayaka. He was given the position because of the lack of time to prepare for another enemy onslaught. It was months later that the selections happened like they did twice a year. I joined shortly after that and befriended the twenty-one-year-old. Two years after that, she was sent out to seal the Tenth Gate Demon, Jazan, and lost her life. This resulted in my inheritance of Yin and Yang, and the upcoming Captain's Exams._

I growled in complete anger. I had forgotten that the Special Abilities were kept in seperate scrolls and were locked away, unlike the Memory Scrolls.

There are four types of scrolls used in INFERNO Squad Kuname. First of all, there's the Memory Scroll. Memories are sealed from the deceased's brain to store them for things we may need to know about their pasts. I thought I could use a Memory Scroll to tap into one of her fights. Unfortunatly, that falls under the Sp.A Scroll. These seal the Special Abilities used by a ninja and are top secret. The only way to get one is to obtain the key to the file cabinet. The only way to do that is to make Puppy Eyes at Gin, which doesn't usually work. Third is the Summoning Scroll. Anything can be summoned into battle: Weapons, Animals, Elemental Techniques.... Basically anything you can think of. The fourth and final type of scroll is the Sealing Scroll. These are used primarily to seal curses or minute amounts of enemy attacks. But to be able to seal an attack or summon one during battle takes great speed, cunning, spriritual balence, and chakra. To achieve spiritual balence in the midst of battle was something I needed to work on.

Chakra is the combination of physical strength, which is intensified through training; concentration, which is directed to the Special Ability or Scroll; and spiritual balence, which must be proportioned exactly. Chakra is difficult to build up into scrolls and that's why they're not seen often in battle. Then, there are some ninja who's expertise lays only in Scroll-Fighting, which is fun to watch.

In my case, I needed to learn how to summon a light. Fire, preferebly, since it was my ruling Elemental Summon. With Elemental Summons, there are seven basic types: The Fire, The Water, The Earth, The Wind, The Moon, The Tides, The Lightning. These can be broken down farther into different techniques and Special Abilites. The Elemental Type shows on the ninja profile along with age, rank, title, any relations within the INFERNO of their own city and quite obviously name. Put them all together and you get something like this:

Using Kosuke's younger brother as an example:

_Commander Kin Asayaka, The Silver Blade_

_17, ETE_

_Younger brother to Captain Kosuke Asayaka_

Kin was of the Earth Type. I had battled him before when he had taken the Commander's Exams. His Special Ability was to create silver blades with his chakra, which could act as a sheild or as a weapon. The boy did prove difficult, but I had expected it.

"Something wrong Leiutenant?" Gin was leaning in the door of the Info Scroll Room.

"No, Captain. I just wanted to take a look at Captain Roku's past." I explained as I stood and bowed to my superior. Through my bangs, I saw him flinch at her name. I wondered why he did that whenever someone mentioned her around him. He was supposed to be the strongest ninja, and by the code, a strong Shinobi was emotionless. It puzzled me, but I knew why her death had affected him so.

"Captain Roku's past? Why?" He shifted his weight. I noticed that because of the light shining from behind him, his form was silhouetted. He stood up straight, no longer leaning in the doorway. He closed the door, putting us in almost complete darkness, then made his way over to me, slowly. He sat on the chair next to mine.

"No reason, Captain. I just miss her, that's all." I looked over at the scroll, which eminated a flickering sky blue light. It illuminated our faces.

"We all do, Sasume." He looked over at the scroll, then his gaze switched to my face.

"I know, Cap—"

"Gin." he interupted. I looked at him in complete shock. "Call me Gin. No more of that Captain stuff."

"Oh... okay, Gin." I looked back at the scroll.

"You remind me of Roku."

"Huh?" I reminded him of Roku.... Strange things happen sometimes.

"You and Roku... you've got the same eyes. And if you think about it, she's got the Kazana's signature nose. The curvature is exactly the same in her and you... your sisters and your parents. It's.... kind of funny." He chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny about my nose?" I demanded, only half-serious.

"No... no nothing. I like your nose. And the rest of your face isn't bad either."

This made me laugh lightly. Then, my gaze was averted to the carpet.

_Oh, carpet! Wonder of wonders! It's like hair for the floor!_

"You weren't supposed to be in tonight. Kosuke booked you and him off again—"

"We're not together." I said quickly.

"Good, because I was going to—"

"_Captain_, no! You're seven years older than me and... my principal! And besides, you're completely off limits. You're supposed to be with Captain Suigetsu, everyone says so.... INFERNO and Kuname High!" I had a valid point, but I still didn't have to flip out on him.

"But, Sasume, I am your superior. You have to—"

"I don't have to do anything! And it's _Leuitenant _Sasume to you and any other fellow ninja!" I jumped back, knocking over my chair. "Just because you were in love with Roku doesn't mean you come onto me!"

I stepped backwards, ready to turn and run. Then I glanced back at the scroll.

_"Hey, Roku. Wanna go out to Midori's tonight... like a date?" Gin kicked at a stone on the ground outside the INFERNO base._

_"I can't, Gin. The Captain's Exams.... It has to be fair. If I win after going out with you, they'll think I was chosen just because I'm your girlfriend. Besides, you're four years older than me. I'm really sorry, but I'm going home now." She started walking down the sidewalk with her hands in the pockets of her knee-length wool coat. She had a red and gold scarf wrapped around her neck and black leather boots that came to mid-shin. Snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky, tracing intricate patterns of loops and whirls with each of their unique little fingers that were frozen with the icy heart of the winter._

_"I'll see you at Takamaru House, then." Gin called to her. But she turned and shook her head._

_"I'm twenty-one, Gin. I got my own little apartment on the other side of Kuname City. The only time I want to see you is when I come here, to INFERNO. The only problem with that is that I'm going to Veteranary Collage next year. It's a four-year program and I'll be back before you know it."_

_It became evident that as time had worn on, her love for him had turned out to be some little schoolgirl crush. Infact, the young Lieutenant had become secretly infatuated with both Mikoto and Chiyoko Shinguji, the brothers that watched the underground entrance to INFERNO Base and kept track of finances. Neither brother knew that she was secretly seeing the other. Though this made her sound like a player (which she sort of was), she really felt bad for both boys._

_Mikoto was her age, twenty-one. He was tall and well-formed with long blue-green hair that kept up in a braided ponytail which reached his waist, and glowing red eyes. People said that he could see in the dark, but he rejected that. Mikoto used to be a Leiutenant, but as his skills increased, he was positioned where INFERNO needed him most. This was only because a flee-on-sight order was given to all enemy ninja who knew of him, The Demon of the Mist. Luckily, I had never had to go head-to-head with him._

_Chiyoko, however, was a completely different story. He was average height, not too great of a body, and he wasn't very bright, either. But he was a talkative redhead with a quick temper and an attitude as firey as his shoulder-length waves. Chiyoko was only a Regular Ninja, but he had seperation anxiety so whenever Mikoto was in another room, Chiyoko would start crying. The guy was twenty-years-old. But, Roku pulled it out of him. It made him a much stronger Shinobi, and with his increasingly excellent skill and hot temper, he was just as awesome as his older brother._

"I've gotta go. Sorry, Captain." I turned and ran out the door and all the way home.


End file.
